This site has been created by Johnny Boehler. I have always had a passion to express my views to others so we will give it a shot. "The views expressed on this website/weblog are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer"

Monday, December 29, 2008

It used to be when you went to a Nebraska football game, the biggest decision that day was when we planned to leave the game. It was a given that Nebraska was going to win except maybe when we played Oklahoma and possibly when we played Colorado or Missouri. But we pretty much won just about every game by a large margin. Now that has changed. You just can't be sure that we will win and that, for this writer, makes every game exciting.

The Texas Tech was such a surprise!! We watched the game in New York City at the Irish Rogue bar. It was full of Nebraskans. It was a very excited group and the cheering was loud!! This bar is only about four blocks from Good Morning America and it has every Nebraska game on TV. There are a lot of very faithful NU fans in New York. We sat by actress Merle Dandridge (lead in Spamalot) who was from Bellevue and Kim Miller an attorney from New York who was originally from Omaha. The game was so fun because who would have guessed we should have won the game against one of the Top Ten teams AND the game was in Lubbock!! It was disappointing to lose but you kind of knew that Nebraska was on its way back.

The best and most exciting game for this writer was the Colorado game. We were beat!! There was no way on fourth and 25 NU could get a first down. And we didn't because Alex Henery kicks a huge FG and puts NU ahead. The crowd was wild and people were falling all over the place. What a great feeling. A game that gave you chills!!

The worst game to watch this year was the Missouri game. Nothing much to be said but NU just got beat in every phase of the game. Missouri peaked that day because they have been average since then. But who wants to talk about the worst of anything.

The best NU basketball game so far this season has been the Creighton game. NU pulled that out at the end. NU just hasn't had much of a home schedule to get too excited so far. Hopefully they can pull off an upset or two during the Big 12 part of the season. Leave it to Doc Sadler to do it.

The women's volleyball team was so much fun to watch in the tournament it gave you chills. Congratulations on playing so well when we really didn't expect it.

You can see this writer likes to see close games with NU winning at the end. That makes it so much fun!!

My best TV shows this season are "Boston Legal" and "The Office". Boston Legal was such a blast to watch. Can you imagine the fun the writers had coming up with some of the story lines. It was hilarious!! This writer will really miss that show. I will miss "Denny Crane". The Office is just so funny. If you haven't seen it, give it a chance. You will enjoy it. Dwight is so bad, he is good. Michael is, well, so much like but yet unlike your boss at work.

My best movie of the year was "The Bucket List". This writer cried watching it. I suppose that it reminded me a little of losing my dad two years ago. The Bucket List will go into my top ten of all time list in movies. Juno and Charlie Wilson's War were pretty good also.

My best book was 90 Minutes in Heaven. It is a book that you will think about for the rest of your life. It is inspiring. Jason Peter's book "Hero of the Underground" was also interesting. It is just so hard to see a person can get so hooked on drugs and let it control you to that extent. It is a must read but it has a lot of bad language. "Boom" by Tom Brokaw was very educational and fun to read. It is about 650 pages long, but well worth it.

Best song of 2008 features former Huskers Joe Chrisman and Bret Lindstrom.

Friday, December 26, 2008

The Huskers arrived today in Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl. They will be staying at the Marriott Sawgrass Hotel. The pictures are courtesy of Huskers Illustrated. If you are not members of Huskers Illustrated, you should join up!! Go to nebraska.rivals.com and get the latest on Nebraska sports and Husker recruiting.

The picture of the Huskers from right to left is Joe Ganz, Lance Thorell, Zac Lee, Ricky Thenarse, and Ben Cotton.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Let's not forget the true reason of Christmas and that we are celebrating Jesus' birth!! It changed all our lives and we are so happy that God gave his son for us!

The words "do not be afraid" run through many of the stories about the first Christmas when Jesus was born.

When the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to tell her that she would give birth to Jesus his first words were "do not be afraid, Mary". The angel who appeared to Joseph to tell him about the child Mary was carrying says to him "do not be afraid". When the angel appeared to the shepherds to tell them of Jesus' birth his first words were also "do not be afraid". We need to hear this because we are anxious and fearful and there is much we find threatening. Our personal circumstances this Christmas may be difficult. The credit crunch is bringing misery to many. Terrorism is rarely out of the news. Many live as victims of injustice and cruelty.

But the message of that first Christmas at Bethlehem still has power to change lives and renew our world for the better – "a Saviour has been born to you", "peace on earth and goodwill towards all people".

If we can open our lives and accept the loving invitation of God for us in Jesus Christ, and if we can share that love in our care for others, then the Christmas message will lessen our fears and bring us all comfort and joy.

Many of the words above were taken from a story by Andrew Anderson who is a minister and wrote a story called "Christmas teaches us to not be afraid." I thought they were fitting to share with you today!!

Merry Christmas to The Toddler. He has a great website to put it in your favorites and visit it often.

Monday, December 22, 2008

This picture was taken this summer in Holdrege on our golf course!! Santa was a little hot!

During this bowl season, fantasize you are really playing!

The World's Shortest Fairy Tale>>> Once upon a time, a guy asked a girl 'Will you marry me?'> The girl said, 'NO!'> And the guy lived happily ever after and rode motorcycles > and went fishing and hunting and played golf a lot and > drank beer and scotch and left the toilet seat up and > farted whenever he wanted.>> THE END

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Jason Ankrah, from the state of Maryland, has announced he wants to be a Cornhusker!! He is a four-star defensive end. He weighs 248 and is 6'4". Looks like a good one! Here is an update on recruiting!

Nebraska so far has ten offensive and thirteen defensive recruits that have committed so far.

Let's take a closer look.......

QuarterbackIN Cody GreenOUT Joe Ganz

The loss of Ganz will be pretty major but there some good QB's on the roster with Lee, Witt, and Spano. Green could compete next fall but usually it takes a year or two to learn the system. The QB race in 2009 will be the story of the 2009 team. Witt, Lee, Spano, or Green could all be in the running for starting QB next year.

Running BackIN Dontrayevous Robinson, Rex BurkheadOUT Marlon Lucky

With Castille and Helu back, our concern will be depth and who will be that third and fourth back. Mendoza will be in the hunt. But now we have "Superman", Rex Burkhead from Texas. It will be interesting to see if he can play up to his expectations. If so, he will get playing time next year.

The loss of Potter is especially big. Sievers has played well also. We need may need one more recruits at this position as the depth isn't there. Barry Turner and Pierre Allen should be starters next year. Cameron Meredith has played some but is injured and looking for a medical redshirt.

Chris Williams is the real deal. He has the best chance on this year's commits to play right away if he can overcome his injury this fall in high school. We lose Wortman and Glenn so we need possibly one more recruit at linebacker. Depth is an issue but with Mike Hays, Sean Fisher, Lawrence, and Williams, we may better next year.

With the nickel and dime packages, NU has six defensive backs. The coaches obviously see these positions to the success of the defensive schemes and they also see we need improvement by evidence of the numbers. All but Murillo is back and we will also have Anthony Blue back.

The coaches went after needs. We may need to get a recruit or a quality walkon for punting.

It seems the longer we go into the recruiting season, the better the quality we are getting!! We now have five four-star recruits! All of them look like they can play next year!

We have nine recruits out of Texas. I wonder if THE TODDLER has a comments on any of them!! What comments do you have?

I wonder if Nebraska's intern, Chris Kiffin, will join brother and dad at Tennessee?

Robert Sallie was the leading score for 23rd ranked Memphis yesterday against power Syracuse with 12 points! Oh if only it would have worked out.

Matt Hill hasn't seen much playing time this season at Texas as he is still in the process of gaining back his strength from being injured this past year.

Hastings College student Drew Billeter is the basketball coach for Lawrence-Nelson this season. Lawrence-Nelson has not had a winning season in five years but have started this season 5-0. They beat Shelton last night 58-55 in OT at Shelton. Shelton is coached by former Loomis assistant Dan Brown. Drew is a former all-state player from Loomis.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Nebraska volleyball almost did it again!!! Down two sets, they beat Penn State in the next set. The first loss of a set for Penn State all year! Just an emotion win! Then they win the fourth set 25-22. But Penn State gained the momentum in the fifth set and win 15-11. What an effort for the Huskers!! Maybe as big as effort as this writer has ever seen in sports!! Be proud of the Husker woman's volleyball team. They represented the state very well!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Nebraska so far has eight offensive and seven defensive recruits that have committed so far. On our present two deep chart, we will be losing eight offensive players and seven defensive players after this year.

Let's take a closer look.......

QuarterbackIN Cody GreenOUT Joe Ganz

The loss of Ganz will be pretty major but there some good QB's on the roster with Lee, Witt, and Spano. Green could compete next fall but usually it takes a year or two to learn the system. The QB race in 2009 will be the story of the 2009 team. Witt, Lee, Spano, or Green could all be in the running for starting QB next year.

Running BackIN Dontrayevous RobinsonOUT Marlon Lucky

With Castille and Helu back, our concern will be depth and who will be that third and fourth back. Mendoza will be in the hunt.

We lose some key players but the depth is there to possibly improve before next year.

Wide receiversIN Brandon KinnieOUT Nate Swift, Todd Peterson

Key losses for the offense. We have some younger guys coming up along with M. Holt. Gilleylen, Paul, and Cooper. We need to recruit at least one more receiver in this class.

Tight EndIN J.T. KerrOUT None

NU should be stronger at this position a year ago after much improvement this year.

DEFENSE

Defensive EndIN Kevin YoungOUT Zach Potter, Clayton Sievers

The loss of Potter is especially big. Sievers has played well also. We need one or two more recruits at this position as the depth isn't there. Barry Turner and Pierre Allen should be starters next year. Cameron Meredith has played some but is injured and looking for a medical redshirt.

Chris Williams is the real deal. He has the best chance on this year's commits to play right away if he can overcome his injury this fall in high school. We lose Wortman and Glenn so we need possibly one more recruit at linebacker. Depth is an issue but with Mike Hays, Sean Fisher, Lawrence, and Williams, we may better next year.

With the nickel and dime packages, NU has six defensive backs. The coaches obviously see these positions to the success of the defensive schemes and they also see we need improvement by evidence of the numbers. All but Murillo is back and we will also have Anthony Blue back.

The coaches went after needs. We may need to get a recruit or a quality walkon for punting.

USC has 16 recruits. Four have five stars and 11 have three stars as per Rivals.com ratings. NU has no five star recruits and three four star recruits and are rated 29th in recruiting. The No. 1 team in the rankings is LSU with 20 recruits: three five stars and eleven three stars.

The NU volleyball team pulled out a come-fom-behind win last night vs. Washington. They were down 0-2 and rallied to win. Now on to Omaha and hopefully another national championship!

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Nebraska will play in the Gator Bowl at noon on New Year's Day. It will be televised by CBS.

Here's what tigernet.com has to say about one of it's players:Michael Hamlin, a first-team All-ACC safety, is the leader of Clemson's defense. The graduate has six interceptions to rank in a tie for sixth in the nation, and he has also contributed a team best nine pass deflections. His 15 passes defensed rank among the national leaders as well. Hamlin is second on the Clemson team in tackles with 102 and has 18 career takeaways (interceptions plus fumble recoveries). He ranks second in Clemson history in that category, just one short of Terry Kinard's career record of 19 set between 1978-82.

And here's what clemsontigers.cstv.com has for information on their site:

Clemson is 10th in the nation in scoring defense (16.6), ninth in pass efficiency defense, 10th in pass defense (167.3) and 17th in total defense (294.8). Clemson led the ACC in scoring defense and is second in the nation behind Southern California in fewest yards allowed per pass attempt.

Clemson is led on offense by running backs James Davis and C.J. Spiller, quarterback Cullen Harper and wide receiver Aaron Kelly. Davis has 725 yards rushing and has scored 11 touchdowns this year. He needs just 112 rushing yards in the Gator Bowl to become Clemson's career leader and two touchdowns to establish a Clemson career record. He currently has 49 after a three touchdown performance against South Carolina in the regular season finale.

Spiller leads the ACC in all-purpose running and was named first-team All-ACC as a specialist this year. Spiller needs just 114 all-purpose running yards to become Clemson's career leader. He has 612 yards rushing and 430 yards receiving in addition to ranking 12th in the nation in kickoff returns. His reception yardage total was a Clemson record for a running back.

Should be a close game. This writer thinks the spread should be Nebraska favored by eight points.

Coach Danny Nee and Erick Strickland will be inducted into the Nebraska Hall of Fame on January 16, 2009.

Former Nebraska Coach Bill Busch is headed to Utah State to be their new defensive coordinator and safeties coach. He will be under their new head coach Gary Anderson who comes over from Utah where he was the defensive coordinator. Best wishes to Coach Busch who was one of my favorites under Coach Callahan. Funny guy!

Nebraska showed it has a long ways to go to play with the best. #19 Arizona State beat Nebraska today 64-44 at Tempe. No doubt from the start who had the most talented team but the Cornhuskers did give a great effort. Nebraska needs a couple of good big men to move up to the next notch,

This writer loves Coaches Bo Pelini and Doc Sadler. He hopes they are around for a long time.

The last Nebraska All-American was Barrett Ruud in 2004.

Leading this year's team in interceptions are Zach Potter and Ndamukong Suh with two each. Kind of odd beings their defensive linemen.

The Big 12 is the best conference in football and basketball. In basketball, The Big 12 has had six teams advance to the Final Four in the last seven seasons, more than any conference in the country. A year ago, the Big 12 had more wins against top-25 opponents than any conference in the country. The winning percentage of the Big 12 teams in NCAA play (,642) is the best in the country over the past six seasons. These facts were taken out of the new 2008-9 Basketball Media Guide.

The Nebraska Sports Journal's Top Five Football Teams will remain the same as last posted on November 23rd.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

PICTURE COURTESY OF THE LINCOLN JOURNAL STARSEE THEIR PHOTO GALLERY FOR OTHER GREAT PHOTOS

Friday afternoon Nebraska knocked off Colorado 40-31 in the most thrilling NU game this writer has ever attended. Nebraska seemed to be in control of the game after Colorado opened up a 14-0 lead but every time you would look at the score we were tied or behind. This writer didn't worry about it because we just seemed to be outplaying them and it was a matter of time. It was a matter of time at the end when we had a 4th and 25 from the Colorado 40 yard line. Thoughts went through my mind that we were beat. The ride home was going to be disappointing. There was no way. The sickening thought of our fake field that backfired for a Colorado touchdown went through my mind.

Should we punt? There was less than two minutes left in the game. A first down by Colorado and this game was over. Kunalic could possible hit a field goal from that distance but the chances were slim. Our offense didn't look to be with it this series so a first down needing 25 yards was not very probable. And then Alex Henery come on the field. He is a heck of a kicker and my vote all year long for All Big 12 but 57 yards? It couldn't be a fake. Not after the last one we tried. Impossible. And then the ball was snapped and he actually kicked it. Some yelled "It's short!"

But it kept going and going and then this writer saw a fan raise his hands behind the goal post and the crowd erupted. It went crazy! People were falling over over the place! Fans were hugging other fans they didn't even know. It has never been that loud in the Nebraska stadium.

But the game wasn't over. They had hit three early passes for a lot of yards and they might do it again. QB Hawkins threw the ball down the middle with his tight end temporily open. At the last second Lance Thorell leaped and knocked the ball away from the receiver. Wwwhhheeewwww! Still time left. Hawkins goes back to throw and Zach Potter, for the second time in the game, deflected it away to N. Suh and Suh races to the end zone for a touchdown. The crowd went crazy again and this time it might have been just as loud or louder. Nebraska had it won at last!!

Yes, we beat Oklahoma a few years ago on the Stuntz to Crouch pass. That was crazy, Yes, we beat Missouri on the famous Frost to Davison pass in overtime a few years ago. And yes we beat Texas A & M a couple of years ago on the Taylor to Purify pass when it looked like we were beat. The Oklahoma-Nebraska Game of The Century was as good as it gets. There are others. But this writer wasn't at those games and two of those games weren't even in Nebraska. Never had we had 85,000 plus fans at a game like this. It was loud. It gave you goosebumps and it made you emotional!

If you get a chance view Corn Nation's (In the Blog List) replay of the fieldgoal. WOW!

Stars of the game were of course, Henery and Suh, Helu again, and Zach Potter. Oh and the Nebraska fans!!!

The Big 12 was also crazy today. Kansas beats Missouri and Nebraska ties for the Big 12 North.

We are 8-4 and probably headed to the Gator Bowl. Let's go 9-4 but maybe don't make it so exciting this time.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving to readers at the Nebraska Sports Journal! Happy Thanksgiving to John and the gang who run Nebraska Sports Journal. I hope that you have plenty to be thankful for, such as a possible bowl game for Nebraska in a tropic weather place. Over at Collegefootballtopten.com, I posted my annual Top Ten Things I'm Thankful For, if you have a chance, check it out. Here's a hint. It includes the guys from Nebraska Sports Journal.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Nebraska has to beat Colorado next Friday. With the Notre Dame loss today vs. Syracuse, they should have eliminated themselves from playing in the Gator Bowl. Nebraska should be at the top of the list!

The Gator Bowl is held in the Jacksonville Municipal Stadium which seats 76,877 and is the home of the Jacksonville Jaquars. The game features the third place team of the ACC vs. Notre Dame, or a team from the Big East or Big 12. The ACC is so close that it could be a number of team that could play in the Gator. Boston College, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Florida State, Wake Forest, Clemson, Miami (Fla) and Virginia Tech could all be possibilities.

The Gator Bowl is the site where, in 1978, Ohio State Coach Woody Hayes clotheslined a Clemson player after he intercepted an Ohio State pass. Woody Hayes lost his job the next day.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Nebraska is #20 in the RPI ratings in college football. We are getting votes and are ranked in the 35th area in most of the polls. Three of our four losses come from #2 Texas Tech, #5 Oklahoma, and #13 Missouri. The other loss was to Virginia Tech and they have now dropped out of the Top 25.

I find Joe Ganz as my most exciting player to watch and the player right now NU can least afford to lose. Roy Helu Jr. is the most exciting back we have had in many many years. Every time he runs the ball there is a chance he can get to the endzone. Nate Swift is next. He is the all-time leader in receptions for NU and he also can score at any time. Mike McNiel is an excellent tight end and Matt Slauson is my favorite lineman because he can pass block and run block consistantly, but more importantly he paints his face before the games.

On defense, this writer loves to watch N. Suh. He is a force and All-Big 12. Zach Potter is an excellent D-End with Pierre Allen not far behind. Ty Steinkuhler likes to make plays. This writer's favorite defensive back is Loomis's Lance Thorell. We hope to see more of him before season's end.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

I wanted to introduce you to my gallery section at Collegefootballtopten.com. I have a Collegefootballtopten.com gallery at Flickr, and there is a link at my site. I have just a few pics, but I am looking to add more. Anyone that has pics of a game that you attended can send me the pic in an email (info@collegefootballtopten.com) and I might include it in the gallery. Another way to get your pic in the gallery is to take a pic of yourself wearing Collegefootballtopten.com gear.

Another gallery I have up at Flickr is one in which the famous Bob Lilly signed copies of his new book at our store in Fort Worth, TX. You can check it out as well.

It looks like the Cornhuskers have pulled things together winning four out of their last five games. With a win over Colorado next week, the Huskers can secure second in the Big 12 North. They would be 8-4 with that win and probably wish they could get that Virginia Tech game back. And, by the way, Nebraska took the number 2 team in the country to overtime in Lubbock. Not bad. I think Bo Pelini has done a great job in his first year. It's tough enough for anyone to stop these Big 12 offenses, much less a team who has a new coach. I know that you Husker fans are happy with the results. Good things are coming for Nebraska.

Friday, November 14, 2008

This writer hated to see Josh Freeman switch his commitment to Kansas State a few years ago but now it is a blessing. If Freeman would have come to NU, we probably would have never had Joe Ganz start and seriously I'd rather have Joe Ganz.

Look to NU to be inspired because of the blackshirts and the fact that they want to play in the Gator Bowl vs. the Sun Bowl.

Look to the weather to be cold and windy. NU will get three plus turnovers tomorrow but both offenses will depend on the run so it will shorten the game. NU wins 23-14. Look to Marlin Lucky to have a great game!!! The front four on defense will play very well again!!

Monday, November 10, 2008

If Nebraska can win out, chances are they are headed to the Sun Bowl in El Peso, Texas. The game will be 12/31/08 at noon and will be televised on CBS. Oregon State may be the opponent but others could be Oregon, Arizona, and California. Remember Oregon St beat USC earlier in the year.And guess what! The Village People will be performing at halftime.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Dorothy: [has just arrived in Oz, looking around and awed at the beauty and splendor] Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more.Dorothy: [after a pause] We must be over the rainbow![a bubble appears in the sky and gets closer and closer. It finally lands, then turns into Glinda the Good Witch wearing a spectacular white dress and crown, holding a wand]Dorothy: [to Toto] Now I... I know we're not in Kansas!

Right before the "Tunnel Walk" yesterday, the big screen showed a scene from the Wizard of Oz. It is the part where Dorothy tells Toto "We aren't in Kansas anymore". It fired up the crowd!! Everybody realized that Kansas, who hadn't won in 40 years years in Lincoln, had their hands full. Even on a freezing day with the wind blowing 30 miles an hour from the north the crowd warmed up and helped the team stay fired up for the entire game.

It was so cold this writer wished that Coach Mangino was close to him to get warm. It was that cold! This writer is pretty sure that Mangino could have eaten Toto by the end of the game. Don't get me wrong, Coach Mangino is one of the best coaches in college football. He has taken Kansas to new heights. But he looks so big in blue. Almost as big as myself.

The Nebraska offense played their best game of the year. The line played very well. Roy Helu ran very well. He is the fastest back we have had in a while. The 50 yard touchdown in the second half is my play of the year so far. It fired the crowd up as much as this writer has seen since the Stuntz to Crouch pass vs. Oklahoma.

Joe Ganz continues to play very well. He the best QB that NU has had in the past ten years. He fits this offense very well. He is a leader and a gutsy player. We will miss him next year!

On defense the front four are playing extremely well. As this writer has said before, Suh is an all Big 12 player. He is dominating. Not a bad fullback or tight end either. What a day he had.

The secondary and linebackers are ok but this is the area that is keeping us from being a Top 25 team. Thanks to a few dropped balls to open receivers yesterday or Kansas may have won the game. KU knew who to pick on yesterday. They constantly threw the ball at a couple of our cornerbacks and were very successful doing so. We are young in the secondary so we should only get better in the future.

Kansas didn't only lose the game 45-35, they lost a recruit also. Earnest Norman switched his commitment from Kansas to Nebraska yesterday. He is a 5'11" 220 lb linebacker from Texas. He is rated the 39th best middle linebacker by Rivals.

One more race this year for Nascar. Jimmie Johnson has the cup won.

Now a little bit of politics. This was in my bulletin today at Church.

A Grave Mistake and an Abiding HopeFr. Frank Pavone, National Director, Priests for Life

Americans have made a grave mistake in electing Barack Obama to the presidency. Yet America herself remains great and is not a mistake, which is why so many of her citizens will continue, with even greater energy and determination, to defend her founding principles.

The man elected to the Presidency said during the campaign that he does not know when a human being starts to have human rights. How can one govern from that starting point of ignorance? Governing is about protecting human rights; to do it successfully, you have to know where they come from, and when they begin.

The President-elect has already failed that test miserably.

The American people do not share Barack Obama’s extreme and offensive views on abortion. They never have and they never will. The coming four years will see a widening gap between the people and their President on this fundamental issue. As Americans come to know how extreme his position is, the intensity of the struggle to protect these children will only increase.

One last thing. My #1 team, Oklahoma St., was beaten bad yesterday by Texas Tech. Here is my new Top Teams:

Friday, November 07, 2008

Nebraska will win this week in a Texas Techish type game 42-41. Lucky and Helu will have great games. Look to Mike McNiel to score this week. The defense will struggle but will get three turnovers and over two sacks.

Kansas, coached by the 2007 National Coach of the Year, Mark Mangino, is very good again. Not quite the team it was last year, it is a very fine team. It is obvious Mangino likes to eat so that qualifies him as my hero.

The key to the game is containing Reesing on the zone option. If he starts running at will, we could get behind early again. Sharp will have his 150 yards rushing but we have to stop Reesing or things will totally open up and get out of control.

My guess we will do a respectable job of holding down Reesing but he will get 100 yards+ rushing.

NU will show some trick plays this week. Why hold them any longer. This is a huge game for NU. Cody Glenn will have a very good game this week. Watch Ricky Thenarse emerge as a big factor. Lance Thorell will have five plus tackles and his first turnover this week. Will he take it in for a TD. Watch! It will be exciting!

Mendoza will catch a pass this week and look to him to run a reverse for some good yardage.

Monday, November 03, 2008

This writer agrees with the coach, let's move on. You can't spot a good team like that 35-0 and expect to win. Oh well, we won the final three quarters 28-27.

This writer thinks its odd that so many fans complained last year that we needed some fire in the program and now they are complaining about Bo Pelini's passion for the game or temper, however you want to look at it. This passion is all fans wanted to be happy. We just wanted them to play hard again. Bo Pelini is very passionate and he will continue to be that way. He had a flag thrown in his only other game he played so why did you think he would change. This writer likes the passion and our coach will make things happen down the road. Just don't try to change who he is.

Boy did NU play a lot of reserves the other night. New numbers were all over the field. Watson, Koehler, Lawrence, Witt, and the list goes on and on. Competition for positions should be fierce. It may also show our overall knowledge of the schemes are not being picked up by some of the players.

Next up is Kansas. It will be a tough one and Kansas will be favored by 3-6 points.

NU basketball starts this Friday with an exhibition game against Chadron State.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

This writer has changed his mind and thinks this game will be low scoring.Not entirely, but this writer is a contrarian so we will go will a score of 21-18, OU. Hard to believe right now but yes the defenses will be pretty darn good this Saturday and NU will stay in the game until the end.

Nate Swift is a great talent and a hard working player. He broke Johnny Rodgers record for career receptions last Saturday. But did you know "The Jet" had the previous record and accomplished his record in three years because Freshman couldn't play back then. So to equal Rodgers record, Swift would have to have 48 more receptions this year to do what Rodgers accomplished.

Top College football teams!1. Oklahoma State2. Alabama3. Texas4. Florida5. USC6. Penn State

Yes, OSU got beat by Texas by three or four points but would have Texas have beat them at Stillwater. This writer doesn't think so. We'll take OSU as #1 right now.

Tom Tresh recently passed away. He played in the ourfield with Mantle and Maris in the 60's. Great player.

The Phillies won the World Series. It was over before this writer could get into the series.

The Ernie Davis Story, we hear, is a great movie. Hope we can get to the Sun Theatre in Holdrege to watch it this weekend.

My brother just sent this picture. It is Kansas Coach Mark Mangino when he was a baby!!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Nebraska played a tough team in Baylor this past week. Nebraska did not give up when adversity hit them and rebounded to win 32-20. Next year in Baylor will be no gimmee with their quarterback.

Oklahoma is this week. They will score a lot. Nebraska will score a lot. Look to Oklahoma to score more and win 38-20. What a tradition this game USED to be. It was something we looked forward to for weeks!

Today we are going to talk about that Thanksgiving Day when we played the Game of the Century vs. Oklahoma.

It was No. 1 Nebraska vs. No. 2 Oklahoma in front of 63,000 fans at Owens Field. Never has the quality of a game been so strong. Yes, there has been buildup of many games over the years. This game, however, featured two teams that performed brilliantly all day long. The errors of the game included three turnovers by Oklahoma and one by Nebraska. There was only one penalty the whole day, an offside penalty against Nebraska.

Oklahoma ran the record breaking Wishbone T. Nebraska was able to stop the main weapon of Greg Pruitt's end runs but was not able to stop the keeper, fullback, or most of the passing game.

Nebraska ran the I spread and the I slot. Oklahoma took away Nebraska's passing attack but Nebraska was able to the run the ball effectively. The difference in the game is the play all Nebraska fans remember. It was Johnny Rodger's punt return. It was the play we have heard called by Lyle Bremser a billion times and it is never enough. That play was the difference in the game that day.

Joe Wylie punted the ball high and deep which helped Rodgers' return. Oklahoma was down to him when he caught the ball. You can't describe the run. You have all seen it. Rodgers went 72 yards for the score!! He should have called a fair catch the way they had him covered. Greg Pruitt spun him around. Ken Jones almost had him. He darted, caught his balance, twisted, dodged, disappeared a couple of times and then ran for the end zone. Joe Blahak bumped Joe Wylie out of the way. He put the fans in the aisles. Man, woman, and child!!!

The Cornhuskers twice were able to get 11 point leads that day; 14-3 in the second quarter and 28-17 in the third quarter. Remember the punt return was in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the ballgame. But the punt return forced OU to fight from behind most of the day.

With seven minutes to go in the game, OU's QB Jack Mildren had ran for two touchdowns and passed for two more. Nebraska had the best defense in the country but Oklahoma had 467 total yards. Oklahoma also had a 31-28 lead. It was reported that Devaney lost his temper and yelled at the defense on the sideline "Why can't you guys give Rich Glover some help once in a while?" Rich Glover seemed to be doing it all that day.

Then is was NU's Jerry Tagge's turn to direct NU on the winning 74 yard drive. "Nobody said a word in the huddle but me," Tagge said. "We all just knew what had to be done." And they did it.The drive took 12 plays and over five minutes. Jeff Kinney ran for 30 yards on two plays early in the drive. He broke a few tackles. Do you remember his torn up jersey? Tagge hit Rodgers on a third and eight with Rodgers making a great catch.

Jeff Kinney ran the ball into the end zone with little time left running behind All American Daryl White. Nebraska won 35-31 and we all felt great for hours, days, months, and years to come.

Let's hope this Saturday we get a big upset and the victory gives us some of that feeling again!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Nebraska so far has seven offensive and seven defensive recruits that have committed so far. On our present two deep chart, we will be losing eight offensive players and seven defensive players after this year.

Let's take a closer look.......

QuarterbackIN Cody GreenOUT Joe Ganz

The loss of Ganz will be pretty major but there some good QB's on the roster with Lee, Witt, and Spano. Green could compete next fall but usually it takes a year or two to learn the system.

Running BackIN Dontrayevous RobinsonOUT Marlon Lucky

With Castille and Helu back, our concern will be depth and who will be that third and fourth back. Mendoza will be in the hunt.

Chris Williams is the real deal. He has the best chance on this year's commits to play right away. We lose Wortman and Glenn so we need two more recruits at linebacker. Depth is an issue but with Mike Hays, Sean Fisher, Lawrence, and Williams, we may better next year.

Defensive BacksIn LeAndre Byrd, Taylor MartinezOUT Armando Murillo

With the nickel and dime packages, we should recruit one more defensive back. We do have some pretty good at defensive back.

Monday, October 20, 2008

I usually don't list specific comments in my blog but The Toddler had some interesting comments on Robert Griffin, the QB at Baylor. This writer thinks this will be a pretty close game. The point spread will be around 14, my guess. This writer thinks it will be closer than that.

The Toddlers comments:"You are, uh, going to enjoy watching Robert Griffin play QB at Baylor. He has started his career with 155 pass attempts without an interception. That includes last week against Okie State, the same team who intercepted Chase Daniel multiple times. He will be a real challenge for Nebraska. Griffin is the real deal. Both Baylor and Nebraska beat Iowa State by about a similar score, so it should be a good challenge for both teams. Enjoy"

Sunday, October 19, 2008

First J.T. Kerr, a San Diego (Cal) tight end recruit committed to Nebraska. Then Four-Star linebacker recruit Chris Williams of Abilene Texas committed to NU. This was out first recruits since late August.

Next Friday Jerimiah Sirles, a three star offensive line recruit, will announce whether he is going to Oregon or Nebraska. My guess is he is coming to the Big Red. He is from Lakewood Colorado.

Yesterday the NU Cornhuskers dominated Iowa State with a 35-7 win. The NU lines won the battle and this was the difference of the game.The offensive line overall played well. The defensive line continues to play very well.

NU was quicker, faster and stronger than Iowa State. Iowa State is presently playing ten true freshmen and it was evident.

Our receivers, especially Nate Swift, are playing beyond expectations this year. It doesn't seem that long ago when the receivers had dropitis. Like last year and the year before. None of that now.

What in the world is wrong with our punting. Always a strength at NU, this year we are ranked 118th in the nation. Doesn't make sense.

Nebraska is similar to Baylor statistically and Baylor will give NU a real battle. NU is 18th in the nation in total offense; 64th in total defense. With the game in Lincoln, NU should be favored by 14 points or so.

Defensively we played a similar defense against Iowa State that we did against Virginia Tech. Three linebackers were on the field most of the game.

I hate when Larry Asante showboats and then misses a tackle or gets beat on a pass!

Now for Nebraska High School football. It is time to put Lincoln North Star in the Top 10. With their win friday night over 3rd rated Grand Island, 17-14, they have proven they are in the Top 10. Mark Waller, a Holdrege native, is their coach. In Class A, we may be headed to a Creighton Prep/Bellevue West showdown. Both are undefeated.

This week the top two teams in Class B play; McCook and Ogallala. It is at Ogallala, but McCook should win the game. They are really good.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Oklahoma State beat Washington St. by 26 points, Houston by 19 points, Texas A & M by 28 points and Missouri at Missouri by five points. They are 6-0. This writer would beat Alabama today on a neutral field.

Except for a couple of plays, Nebraska held Michael Crabtree in check Saturday. Crabtree is an All-American.

Niles Paul is a game breaker and fun to watch!

Kudos to Mike Hays and Lance Thorell for their play!

Nebraska has a huge huge game this weekend. They need to win to go to a bowl and we all want a bowl game. Isn't it funny that after the Missouri loss people were saying I don't think we will win another game and now this week the expectations are 8-4.

I found this on the internet today so enjoy as a change of pace.

9 Things I Hate About Everyone

1. People who point at their wrist while asking for the time.... I know where my watch is pal, where the hell is yours? Do I point at my crotch when I ask where the toilet is?

2 People who are willing to get off their ass to search the entire room for the T.V.. remote because they refuse to walk to the T.V. and change the channel manually.

3 When people say 'Oh you just want to have your cake and eat it too'. Damn right! What good is cake if you can't eat it?

4 When people say 'it's always the last place you look'. Of course it is. Why the hell would you keep looking after you've found it? Do people do this? Who and where are they?!

5 When people say while watching a film 'did you see that?'. No Loser, I paid $12 to come to the cinema and stare at the damn floor.

6 People who ask 'Can I ask you a question?'.... Didn't really give me a choice there, did ya sunshine?

7. When something is 'new and improved!'. Which is it? If it's new, then there has never been anything before it. If it's an improvement, then there must have been something before it, couldn't be new.

8 When people say 'life is short'. What the hell?? Life is the longest damn thing anyone ever does!! What can you do that's longer?

9 When you are waiting for the bus and someone asks 'Has the bus come yet?'. If the bus came would I be standing here, dumbass?

Sunday, October 05, 2008

This is a time of the season where NU will need to get together as a team and decide what they want to make of the balance of the season. This is where the leadership of the team needs to have a team meeting and get regrouped quickly.

Against Virginia Tech, this writer thought if we played them ten times in Lincoln, we could beat them five times. If we played ten games in Lincoln against Missouri, we wouldn't win one of them. They are just that much better than us RIGHT NOW.

NU has to knock off the dumb mistakes. Penalties and missed assignments!

NU can make the rest of the season a good one but mentally they have to readjust their approach to the game. We have to get the players on the field who do the job even if they aren't the most talented.

The offensive line has to get meaner to play against the talented teams we face this year. They just don't seem to have the attitude that is needed. Their too passive some of the times. Our backs don't have much to run through.

Texas Tech is going to be tough. We have to be tougher to beat them. We have to be smarter to beat them. We have to do the right things and execute. Enough of a broken record.

Thursday, October 02, 2008

We will be back to the dime defense this week!! More quickness. Better play. Watch for Ricky Thenarse, Eric Hagg, Lance Thorell, N. Suh. Zach Potter, Ty Steinkuhler, and Pierre Allen to excel. Throw in "The Prince" and we will have an action packed exciting game to watch.

More exciting because we will be aggressive in our scheme with more blitzing and gambling. Missouri will get a couple of big plays but the defense will get the crowd into the game with blitzes and great hits.

The offense will be more productive this week also but don't plan on us winning with the run. We will not run for a lot of yards but our passing will get us some scores.

Watch for special teams to excel. Watch for the defense to score at least once. Watch Jeremy Maclin break a couple of long ones for Mizzou. It will be midnight when this game is over but you won't want to go to sleep for a few hours after this one. With a week of better field position and a strong start look to NU to win 32-31.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Nebraska had VT to a 4th down and then there was some commotion and the announcers said there is a flag. For what? Personal foul? Who did that? Suh? That wasn't a late hit!! In the above picture, you see Erin Andrews from ESPN/ABC turn around and leave the game because she was upset with the call.

The Huskers didn't play very well most of the game and in reality, VT could have had a three TD lead at half. But they didn't. The calls late in the game took away our "hope" but it didn't cost us the game. What cost us the game was that we were sloppy and made a lot of mistakes.

A real disappointment again from the offensive line. I guess in the great years we could run even if the opposing team stacked the middle. That was until we faced Oklahoma.

The offense has some real issues. It starts with the offensive line. They need to respond starting this week or it could be a very long season!!! Roy Helu has to get more carries! Joe Ganz has to hit his receivers with consistency like he is capable of doing. We have to be able to run the ball I don't care what anybody says. We have to and as long as we can't, we will be an average team at best.

On defense, there was a lot of receivers open. Missed assignments. We seem to play better with the nickel and dime package. We need to find a away to get Eric Hagg in the game all the time. Maybe he should be safety. Ricky Thenarse played well when he was in but he is still hurt.

Enough rambling. Is NU still going to win the Big 12 North? Stay tuned but this writer thinks the team will rally. The point spread is eleven points but many feel it will be worse.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

This writer sees a low scoring game this week with Nebraska's Alex Henery hitting a 41 FG with seconds remaining. The final score will be 17-14. Stars of the game will be D. Suh, Zach Potter, Cody Glenn, Tyler Wortman, Ty Steinkuhler, and Alex Henery. On offense, it will be a struggle with the VT defense. Special teams will be big this week.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Nebraska gets the national spotlight this Saturday night on ABC against Virginia Tech. This is a big game for recruiting. This is a big game for Nebraska to hit the Top 25 in the USA Today poll and possibly the AP poll. This is a game where we get a better idea where this team is.

Virginia Tech beat North Carolina in a thriller yesterday. Their loss was to East Carolina who is ranked. They play the game in Lincoln this Saturday which gives NU the edge. This writer believes NU will be favored by 3-5 points.

With a win this week, NU will hit the Top 25 polls again. When was the last time we did that? Well actually on 9/30/07, Nebraska was rated 25th in the AP and 23rd in the USA Today poll. After the 5th week of the season last year, we were rated.

Nebraska is rated 30th in the AP poll and 27th in the USA Today poll this week. They are ready to break-in to the elite group.

Who are the top teams in college football right now? This writer rates them as follows:1. USC-Very talented. Pac 10 is really down this year. USC may not get a game until the National Championship Game. I wish they were in the SEC. That would be fun!!2. Georgia-QB Matt Stafford is very talented with his top targets being DJ Shockley and David Greene. The running attach is led by Knowshon Moreno. Quite a name. SEC team3. Florida-Fast and they hit hard. SEC team.4. Alabama. Big surprise this year with Saban as coach. They play Georgia this week and wow would this writer like to see that one. It is at Georgia so they will be favored but don't be surprised if Alabama pulls this one out. They are good!5.& 6. Oklahoma and Missouri. Big 12 elite.7. Penn State. Big 10's best! Not saying a lot but they will end the season possibly undefeated with USC. I think Wisconsin is beatable.8. LSU. Another SEC team who could beat any team on a given week.9. Texas Tech They can pile up the points!! 10. Wake Forest.

Teams close to the Top 10. Texas, BYU, Wisconsin, Auburn

Some of this week's games this writer will be watching this week besides NU/VT and Georgia/ Alabama are Louisville/Connecticut, Colorado at Florida St., Tennessee at Auburn, Arkansas at Texas, and TCU at Oklahoma.

The Toddler says Oklahoma needs to be ready for TCU this time.

Who is Nebraska's MVP. Who would we miss the most if they couldn't play this week? These ranking are based on talent and the depth at their position.

Texas A & M, Iowa State, Baylor, and Kansas State are at the bottom of the Big 12. This writer hates to look to next year but Colorado will be favored in the Big 12 North with Chase Daniel and Joe Ganz gone.

And then finally the NFL. The best two teams right now are Dallas and Denver. New England has dropped so far without Tom Brady that it is hard to believe after they blew everybody out until the end last year.

Much improved are Atlanta and San Fransisco. Of course any week, any team can beat anybody.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Nebraska whipped up on New Mexico St. 35-7. It was Nebraska's best game so far and it was a fun game to watch.

The running game got going. We will see when we play Virginia Tech if it continues or if New Mexico St. just didn't have the defensive talent.

All the running backs and offensive line played well. Mike McNiel had great touchdown. Joe Ganz played well. Marlon Lucky had his best game.

Nebraska played a different defense than what we have seen in the past. Four cornerbacks were playing most of the game. With that, we were playing a lot of the game with one linebacker. This writer is uncertain as to whether the cornerbacks are considered linebackers with this scheme but the defense was loaded with faster, quicker players to defense against one of the nation's top passing teams. Many times New Mexico St. lined up with four wideouts. The cornerbacks played directly over the receivers.

The defense was also assisted by the great play of the defensive line. Suh and Potter played very well.

On the first play of the game, #23 was playing and the fans started to say who is that? Who is Lance Thorell? Lance made four tackle on the opening drive and ended with the second most tackles on the team with eight.

Lance is a tremendous athlete from Loomis, Nebraska. Loomis is a town of app. 400 people. Most people that follow high school sports know that Loomis has been a power in D-2 and D-1. Lance was all-state in football and basketball. During his high school play, he played on the state champion basketball team in D-2 and he played in the playoffs in football. He broke the record in the 110 yard hurdles for Class D and won that race and the 300 yard intermediate hurdle in Class D. He was also a member of the Class D champion track team. He was close to the times that Niles Paul was running in the hurdles the whole 2007 track season.

So those that have followed Loomis know Lance is a great athlete. But we know there are tons of great athletes in sports. Lance's success, in this writer's opinion, is due to his hard work, his desire to succeed, and his ability to understand football concepts faster than most athletes. Lance is out to prove to himself and others that he can play for the Big Red. Who would have thought he would have been a contributor this quickly? Maybe Lance.

Before Lance entered his senior year, we had Lance complete a questionnaire. This may help you to get to know him better even though a lot of accomplishments have been achieved by Lance since this time. Lance is a cousin to Matt Hill, the Lincoln Southeast product, who is playing basketball for Texas. Remember this questionnaire was completed in August of 2006 and a lot of things have changed this that time.

QUESTIONNAIRE

Lance Thorell, a senior at Loomis High School, is relatively an unknown except for the schools that have played against him. Coach Grant Mollring of Eustis-Farnam was quoted earlier in the year in the Kearney Hub "and the best athlete west of Kearney, in my opinion, is Thorell". Eustis-Farnam plays Loomis this week in D-1 action.

Thorell has excelled in football, basketball, and track at Loomis High during his career. He played on the D-2 championship basketball team three years ago. He had top five performances in Nebraska in the 110 highs and the intermediate hurdles.

He is a two time all-stater in football. Last year he had 101 tackles and eight interceptions. Coach Denis Reese has put him in a position where he can help the team the most. His sophomore year he played receiver on offense and had a great year with all-stater Drew Billeter throwing TD's to him. Last year he played QB. This year he converts to running back. He will be tough to stop and should have a sensational season.

His strongest positions in college looks to be receiver and safety. He has excellent speed, great hands, and is a very tough hard hitter on defense.

Lance is 6'1" and weighs 180 lbs. He benches 245 lbs. and squats 315 lbs. His 40 time is 4.6 and he has a 33 inch vertical jump. His best season in receiving was in 2004 when he had 914 yards receiving and 14 TD's.

Lance will excel wherever he plays and would be a great walk on for the Nebraska program.

This year the word will get out how good he really is. Watch his progress this season.

He responded to our questionnaire and here is what he had to say:

Favorite Game Memory:

"Beating Bertrand 48-16"

Best Athlete You Have Played Against:

"Steve Dent of Mullen and Wade Vontz of Cambridge"

Favorite Team:

"Huskers"

Favorite Player:
"Michael Vick"

College Interested in You:

"Iowa, Doane, South Dakota, UNK, Concordia, Morningside, Dana"

College You Are Interested In:

"Iowa, Doane, UNK, South Dakota"

PERSONAL

What is Your Favorite Books:

"Sports magazines"

Who is Your Favorite Movie Actor:

"Brad Pitt"

What is Your Favorite Movie:

"Dumb and Dumber"

What is Your Favorite TV Show:

"That 70's Show"

Which Actor Would You Like To Be Like:

"Brad Pitt"

What Are Your Hobbies:

"Hunting and Playing Sports"

What is Important For You To Be Successful:

"Making money"

Thank you Lance for giving us this information and good luck in the playoffs.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

I have shown up on this hurricane ridden day in Fort Worth, TX to answer some of John's questions. The first, of course, is can Ohio State beat USC?

In a short answer, yes. Will they? I don't know. When I did my Wednesday Preview, I said that before the season started I believed that Ohio State would win the game, but now I lean toward USC. Is USC that good? I don't know. We won't know for a few more weeks. Will they beat Ohio State, if they do, like they beat Virginia? I doubt it. Is Virginia that bad? Well, it seems that the ACC is not really that good this year, and Virginia may be at the bottom. But, Pete Carroll is unbelieveable in opening games. Ohio State did not look very good last week. But, the week before, they looked just fine. Not having "Beanie Wells" really hurts their chances. I agree with with Eddie at The Red Zone Report that Todd Boeckman has to have a career game.

Another thing you have to remember is that these are college kids. The ability of a team like Ohio State "getting up" against someone like Ohio U is not easy. For USC, you can bet they will be ready. Also, Ohio State has played two games where as USC has only played one. Things probably will not go quite as smoothly against Ohio State as they did against Virginia. USC has yet to face adversity this year where as Ohio State has.

As far as my poll is concerned, remember I update every three weeks. My poll is presently still from the preseason. I think things will be much clearer on Sunday. I will update accordingly.

Who's better, Texas Tech or Texas? Right now, I would go with Longhorns. Tech's defense hasn't shown up yet this year. I think that is unfortunate, but the type of offense that they run puts a tremendous amount of stress on the defense. The Lonhorns, however, have looked impressive so far. As a Razorback fan, I am a little glad that game got postponed. However, I look for Texas to plaster the Hogs in Austin on Sept. 27.

The New Mexico State QB, Chase Holbrook, is a Hurst, TX product from the North Texas area. Another one of those kids from Texas. Good luck to Nebraska against New Mexico State. Go Huskers!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Nebraska faces the New Mexico State Aggies on Saturday. A lot of fans think this will be our easiest game this year. This writer thinks it could be a real test. My guess is the offense starts to roll this week and the defense has its toughest game.

The Aggies are coached by Hal Mumme. He is actually a pretty funny guy. The new defensive coordinator is Joe Lee Dunn. He coached last year at Ridgeway High School in Memphis, Tennessee. Even though he was at a high school, he is well known for his defensive schemes. He runs a 3-3-5 defensive. He makes his players pass a very rigorous "The Packer" drill before they can play. Dunn is the guru of the 3-3-5 defense. They have three down lineman and pack in three linebackers. Dunn will have the Aggies blitzing, blitzing, blitzing. Nebraska better protect Ganz because this is a game he could be hit very hard a few times. Of course with this gambling defense Nebraska will break some big plays on Saturday.

Nebraska has some ties to New Mexico State. Tony Samuel has the third most wins as the head coach at New Mexico St. He is a former player and assistant coach at Nebraska. In 1999, Barney Cotton was the Asst. head coach and Jeff Jamrog was the defensive coordinator for the Aggies. They beat Arizona State at Tempe 35-7 that year.

Nebraska has beat the Aggies twice. In 1979, we beat them 57-0. We were second ranked at the time. In 1982, we beat the Aggies 68-0 and listen to this. We had 677 yards on the ground and 883 total yards that day.

The Aggies are led by Chase Holbrook who is the real deal. He has no interceptions in the last 55 passes. He has a chance to break nine NCAA offensive records and nine NCAA passing records this year. He has 8485 yards for 60 touchdowns in his career. And believe it or not he has completed 70.1 of the passes he has thrown in his career.

Chris Williams is his top receiver and he is a good one. Probably the reason they are bragging about having better receivers than Nebraska. He is one of the best receivers in the country. He has caught 160 passes for 2284 yards and 23 touchdowns.

The Aggies have won five of their last six opening season games. They had their opening game cancelled against Nichols St. due to the hurricane weather.

New Mexico St could compete as well as San Jose St if we get off to a slow start. We have to get our rhythm going this week. WE need good tackle and tight end play this week. Lydon Murtha is back and the line should be more physical. The run game needs to be better this week. If they can't get going this week, we may have a problem this year. The competition is going to get tougher after this game.

Look to Nebraska to win 42-21. We will have a number of long touchdowns. Nebraska will go over 425 total yards. New Mexico St. will have 300 passing yards.

Now a couple of questions for our friend Todd Jones. He has Ohio State rated number one on his collegefootballtopten.com blog. With the opponent being USC and Ohio State going there to play, how will Ohio State beat USC on Saturday?

Thursday, September 11, 2008

I didn't think I would ever write about women's hockey but........I hope you have already seen this but if not here you go. There were so many crazy numbers from the 2010 winter Olympic qualifying match between Slovakia and Bulgaria. So we are going to play BINGO. Be sure to call out when you get a BINGO. First one is B-0: B is for Bulgaria and 0 is how many shots on goal they had. Next is O-139. O is for Oh my goodness! and 139 is how many shots on goal Slovakia had. Next is N-44. N is for secoNds and 44 is how often Slovakia scored. A goal every 44 seconds! I know, I really streached for that N. Next is I-41-0. I is for Italy and 41-0 is the score of the Italy vs. Bulgaria game earlier in the qualifying. They also lost to Croatia 30-1. Total score from all of Bulgaria's games were 192-1. Next is G-82. G is for goals and 82 is the number of goals Slovakia scored. Yes, the final score was 82-0! Strangly this isn't the biggest blowout in women's hockey. Back in 1998 South Korea defeated Thailand 92-0. By now someone has to have BINGO, please speak up and claim your prize.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

WOW! Wasn't what this writer expected Saturday. The offense just couldn't get clicking and the defense had trouble with Kyle Reed, the San Jose St. quarterback. Reed got hurt, the San Jose St. kickers couldn't make FG's, and Niles Paul ran back a kickoff for a touchdown and Nebraska took over the game. The trouble was it was the fourth quarter before NU got rolling.

Positives:Roy Helu is a heck of a back and right separates himself from the rest of the field. There is a spark in the team when he is playing.

Niles Paul is doing some good things. The kickoff return for the TD really fired up the team and the fans.

Nate Swift and Todd Peterson continue to be forces on the receiving core.

Defensive Line. Playing well. Suh, Potter, and Allen were standouts.

Prince A. The defensive backfield seems to be less passive when he is playing.

Negatives:Penalties!!!! Momentum and drive KILLERS!

Barry Turner. His broken leg is a downer for the team and our depth will be hurt by the loss of this fine man.

Offensive line. This includes the tight ends. Many blocks were missed and we were physically dominated at times. We HAVE to get better to be a Top 25 team.

Fullback. When are we going to start using the fullback as a weapon? RUN him three or four times during the game and give the defense more to think about.

Tyler Wortman. We need to find a way to get him some time as he is too good to be sitting when we are running the "nickel" defense. Maybe he could back up Glenn and Dillard to give them some relief.

The offense plays well when Joe Ganz is rolling out and throwing.

The special teams are playing well. The defense got three turnovers on Saturday. That's a huge help to this team in key situations of the game.

This game was decided by about five or six plays. We were outyarded by 50 yards. Next week we will put together a team game and come away with a big game. If not, well there won't be an if not.

Nebraska played another true freshman on Saturday, Alfonso Dennard. He is a cornerback but his action was as kickoff returner. He had two kickoff returns for 21 yards. So far, Nebraska has used Sean Fisher and Mason Wald on special teams this year. This writer is not aware of any other freshman playing. It appears that we will redshirt and large number of freshman this year and build for the future.

Friday, September 05, 2008

Wouldn't it be cool if Usain Bolt would sign to play football at Nebraska? It has been reported he runs a 3.5 40 and has all his college eligibility left. Well it may be as probable as San Jose St beating Nebraska tomorrow.

Last week Bo Pelini became the fifth straight Nebraska coach to open his first full season with a win.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

John asked me a few questions the other day. He wanted me to share them in a post. I have done so at my site in a segment called CFTT Inbox. The link to that post is here.

That being said, here is John's questions followed by my answers.

1. What kind of season do you think A & M will have. They have a strong Husker connection from last year’s coaches and also Tim Cassidy.

2. How good is Alabama? Can they beat Georgia on a neutral field today or USC? Is Saban that good of a coach/ He has a pretty good track record with wins.

3. Who do you think will win the North in the Big 12? Is Missouri a lock?

4. What is your game of the week? It could have been Florida and Miami but Miami has gone down hill.

Here are my answers.

Games of the Week

Wake Forest vs. Mississippi–WF defeated Baylor soundly, and Ole Miss looked pretty good in Houston Nutt’s debut. We have a game between a coach who turned down the Arkansas Razorback head football coach job and a coach who left the Arkansas football head coaching job. This will be a good early test for the Rebels to see if they are bowl worthy, and it will be a chance for the Deacons to get a little redemption for the ACC.

Louisiana Tech vs. Kansas–A lot of people weren’t talking Jayhawks coming into the season. Back to earthy they would say about KU. Louisiana Tech beat a Mississippi State Bulldog team that went to a bowl game last year and most people think Sylvester Croom has headed in the right direction. Is La Tech for real? We’ll see if they can stop KU’s “Blue Collar” spread attack.

I just don’t know about A&M. Their fans have already written them off for the season, but I have to think they have enough talent to be at least 6-6. However, it seems Oklahoma State is much improved, but Baylor ought to be someone they can beat.

About Alabama. I saw a mature, seasoned team on the field with Clemson. They dominated the line on both sides of the ball. They appeared to have made the offense more manageable for John Parker Wilson (the QB), and they seem to have the horses to run the ball. Their TE was super Saturday, too. As far as them beating Georgia or USC, that is hard know just yet. Alabama has a lot of freshmen on the field. They will make a mistake (most likely) at some point. I think that they might be able to line it up and go toe to toe with both teams.

As far as the Big 12 North goes, I am not sure about Mizzou. The score in the Illinois game tells me that their defense is not there yet. They gave up 451 yards to a QB who was known for his feet. Either way, giving up that many yards to any QB says that your defense is not quite ready to win a championship. I need to evaluate Kansas and Nebraska before making my analysis. Also, Colorado.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

This writer has very seldom seen the fans so excited for a game as yesterday. They were starved for some good defensive play. They wanted the Blackshirts back. Well. they are almost back. We are just not sure how good Western Michigan is. On the offensive side of the ball, our passing game was good but our running game didn't meet expectations. There has been very few times where this writer has seen the fans almost want the offense off the field so they could watch the defense play. Excitement was in the air.......

POSITIVESIn the middle of the third quarter, this writer wondered if he had ever seen a Nebraska quarterback throw as accurately as Joe Ganz. He was evasive and mobile and was throwing the ball as good as Vince Ferrogamo, David Humm, Turner Gill, or Tommy Frazier ever threw it. Then he had a tipped pass and just had a bad throw for interceptions but he finished the day 20-36 for 345 yards and four touchdowns. He didn't have many balls dropped and he threw some balls away but he had a really good day overall.

Dreu Young made the best catch that this writer has ever seen by a Nebraska receiver. Junior Miller and Johnny Mitchell caught memorable passes but this reception was unreal. Young couldn't have been defensed any better. Ganz's pass was perfect also. That catch will be on highlight reels for a long time.

Nate Swift stood out. He had a great day with five receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns. It was great to see. Melelik Holt also was impressive. The reivers had a fine day. Marlon Lucky and Mike McNeil both caught touchdown passes.

On defense, the linebackers had a good day they will also be mentioned in my "concerned" section also. They were all over the field. Cody Glenn will have a lot of turnovers with his aggressive play. Phil Dillard caught a receiver from behind and saved a touchdown. Tyler Wortman, well you know this writer is high on him.

Most of the day NU played with three cornerbacks and only two linebackers. Whenever there are three or more receivers on the field for the opposition, there will usually be this setup on defense. NU played Eric Hagg, Prince Amukamara, and Anthony West exclusively at cornerback and Larry Asante and Matt O'Hanlon at safeties. Very few reserves played at all in the defensive backfield.

The defensive line played very well. This writer was very impressed with Tyler Steinkuhler. N. Suh had a good game also. Barry Turner recorded the first sack of the year. Terrance Moore, a reserve had two sacks. Jared Crick put in a good performance and with Dreu Young made the Cozad Haymaker fans proud.

Let's not forget Alex Henery as a highlight. Wow! Four FG's of 44,43,44, and 44 yards. That will come in very handy as the season goes on.

CONCERNSWhere was the running game? The offensive line should be a strength this year but even with Western Michigan playing the run, NU should have been more of a force in this department.

The concerns with the linebackers is their pass coverage on the tight ends. Brenden Ledbetter caught nine passes for 123 yards and one touchdown. That was a third of their entire offense. Too many times he was wide open. What happens when Chase Coffman of Missouri lines up as a wide receiver? Hopefully by then we will improve in this area. With the tremendous desire of the linebackers, they WILL improve.

WHO WE DIDN'T SEE ON SATURDAYArmando Murillo, our best corner, sat out the game due to injury. Ricky Thenarse got hurt early in the game and he was absent after that. Lydon Murtha didn't play. Major Culbert either didn't play or he didn't play very much. This writer thought we might see the corners Leverson, Dennard, and Thorell play some to spell the first unit. The defensive line was shuffling players all night long.

The offensive line also had a lot of kids play. The replacements did very well. They didn't have penalties. That has been a problem in the past.

The game management during the game was really pretty good. Probably as well as this writer has seen in a few years. Really good when you consider this was this coaching staff's first game.

It was a beautiful evening with a perfect breeze to watch the game. The game was very entertaining. If we could have stopped the game at the end of the third quarter this writer would have come away feeling better because the 4th quarter seemed to be too ugly.

If the biggest improvement during a football season is between the first and second games then next week could really be fun.

OTHER GAMESWhat in the world happened to Texas A & M getting beat by Arkansas State 18-14?It is my understanding they just got outplayed and it wasn't a fluke.

#9 Clemson was beaten at Clemson by Alabama 34-10. This writer has always heard how hard it is to win at Clemson. Is Alabama that good?

Virginia Tech looks overrated but Skip Holtz is a heck of a coach at East Carolina as they beat Tech 27-22.